Shubman Gill scored 67 runs in the chase for Gujarat Titans (Pic Credit: Sportzpics)
While it was Rahul Tewatia who once again hit the winning runs for Gujarat Titans against Punjab Kings
Talented Shubman Gill and comeback man Mohit Sharma helped Gujarat Titans outclass Punjab Kings at Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali on Thursday. It was a clinical performance from the defending champions as they beat Shikhar Dhawan’s PBKS by 6 wickets with a ball to spare. Chasing a moderate target of 154, Gill set up the foundation of the victory with a sensible 67-run knock. The 23-year-old opener knew there wasn’t much pressure of the required run rate as he didn’t take any risk during his knock and kept hitting boundaries at regular intervals. He hit 7 fours and a six in his 49-ball stay in the middle. While it was Rahul Tewatia who once again hit the winning runs for the side as Titans moved up to the third spot on IPL 2023 points table.
Earlier, Mohit made a sensational comeback in Indian Premier League as he claimed two wickets in his first game for Gujarat Titans. He was the pick of the bowlers for the Titans with bowling figures of 2/18 in four overs. He was playing in IPL after missing the last two seasons and claimed the wicket of Jitesh Sharma in his second over while all-rounder Sam Curran became his victim in the last over of his spell. Punjab Kings were restricted to 153/8 in 20 overs.
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In reply, the defending champions started the chase on a high with a 48-run partnership for the first wicket. Wicketkeeper batter Wriddhiman Saha once again scored some early boundaries in the innings to allow Gill to get set in the middle. Saha was dismissed by Kagiso Rabada who was playing his first match of the season. He scored 30 runs off 19 balls which was laced with five fours.
While Sai Sudharsan struggled to get going and was dismissed for 19 off 20 balls. The southpaw hit a couple of boundaries but his strike rate remained below 6.
Skipper Hardik Pandya also failed to score big with the bat once again and was dismissed for 8 by Harpreet Brar.
David Miller joined Gill’s hands and took the team over the line in a crucial clash. The duo shared a 42-run stand before Gill was castled by Sam Curran in the final over. Miller scored unbeaten 17 runs off 18 balls but it was Tewatia who once again made a massive impact with his 2-ball 5 as he hit the match-winning boundary.
Sent into bat after the coin landed in favour of the returning Gujarat Titans skipper Hardik Pandya, PBKS lost Prabhsimran Singh in the second ball of the over when his attempted flick off a length ball from Mohammed Shami went straight to Rashid Khan at short midwicket. The PBKS opener failed to open his account. Matthew Short was the highest scorer for his side and hit a valuable 36.
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It was a rare batting failure for skipper Dhawan as he was dismissed for 8. Meanwhile, Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Sam Curran got starts but they failed to convert them into big scores as the dot balls put added pressure on them and they were dismissed for 20 off 26 and 22 off 22 deliveries respectively.
Shahrukh Khan gave a much-needed push to the side with a 9-ball 22 which helped Punjab put up a fighting total.
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